Hi everyone, welcome to my blog! I am a UK volunteer with voluntary service overseas and I'll be living in Rwanda in a small town called Nzige. Nzige is in Rwamagana district to the east of the country towards Tanzania.I'll be going out to Rwanda as an education volunteer to work on UNICEF's child friendly schools campaign. by teaching in a teacher training college and setting up a resource centre.

Saturday, 11 June 2011

The TRC’s first event

Yesterday was a monumental, landmark day for the TRC. It had its first official event, Steven and Mary came down from the district office in Rwamagana to hold a workshop in the TRC for head teachers. We had to borrow furniture from the computer room and I must have re-arranged it a fair few times but I think it looked good in the end. It was quite a hard day as it was Friday and everyone was feeling tired but the workshop was successful and the evaluation forms were really good. I can’t wait to have my own furniture in the TRC and be able to teach in there, it is going to make such a difference. It was lovely to see people exploring and enjoying the resources and it gives you the motivation to carry on with it all. I think that seeing as a few months ago there was no glass on the windows, no electricity and a pile of rubble on the floor the TRC had come quite a long way.

I did have my own slot in the workshop on using resources to support learning which I think went down well. I showed them how to use rice sack posters and bottle top counting strings in a maths lesson. In the evening we went to my bar across the road for a celebratory bottle of Primus. I am spending my second weekend in a row in Nzige which is quite impressive seeing as before this point I had left the village every single weekend.

I am definitely feeling more at home here, although there is not a great deal to do on the weekends so I still expect that most of the time I will go off on my travels at the weekend. It lovely to have visitors to go exploring with and to the bar and to not be the only one being stared at all the time! I’m hoping that now I have an extra mattress more people will be persuaded to visit my residence in ‘middle earth.’

Steven in full workshop teaching mode

Me looking like Carol Voderman adding up the results of a group task done by the headteachers

Teaching about using teaching resources

A young headteacher explores the 'television'. A resource made by my Ugandan colleague for teaching young children their letter signs